Incoming 10th Pre-AP English Summer Reading ~ 2015
Dear Students:
ALL incoming 10th grade Pre-AP ELA students are required to read the following novel over the summer. Evaluation of your reading will take
place the first week of the course.
You can find this book at places like:
1. Borders
2. Barnes & Noble
3. Amazon.com
4. Half Price Books
5. Local Library
Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird
In To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee uses memorable characters to explore civil rights and racism in the segregated Southern United States of
the 1930s. Told through the eyes of Scout Finch, you learn about her father Atticus Finch, an attorney who hopelessly strives to prove the innocence of
a black man unjustly accused of rape; and about Boo Radley, a mysterious neighbor who saves Scout and her brother Jem from being killed.
Submission Deadline
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You will submit your summer assignment by FRIDAY, August 28th, 2015
This assignment will count as a major grade for the 1st six weeks.
Summer Reading Assignment
1. Dialectical Journals- YOU MUST WRITE 20 ENTRIES. Dialectical journals are journals in which the reader records a mental conversation
with the text. (SEE ATTACHED EXAMPLE)
You can use these journals to:
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Summarize and question
Pose questions
Read closely for details, images, diction, etc.
Notice patterns
Write analysis and make connections
Connect method to purpose, effect, and meaning
Make choices about evidence
Document quotes
Make inferences about characters, symbols, etc.
2. Writing Assignment- Choose two quotes from To Kill A Mockingbird that you believe illustrates a(n) important aspect of the text. Then, in a
brief essay (350-500 words) FOR EACH QUOTE explain why that chosen frame is important. Does your quote reflect a theme of the book?
Does your frame provide important information on a major character or event? Does your quote or theme illustrate what the book is attempting
to teach us about life? Please note that you are required to write an essay between 350 and 500 words.
WARNING: Do not wait until the last minute. This reading is for your own good. We expect you to do your own work. Plagiarism will result
in an automatic “0”.
Have a safe summer,
Pre-AP English II
John H. Reagan High School
contact info: qstjulie@houstonisd.org, CREVILL@houstonisd.org, JKRAUSE@houstonisd.org,
JDEAN2@houstonisd.org